Sony Computer Entertainment America today revealed at Destination
PlayStation, its annual retail and publisher conference, several new
hardware items for spring and summer.

North American gamers envious of their Japanese counterparts who
have been able to buy
the DualShock 3, which returns vibration force feedback to the
PlayStation 3 controller, since last year will soon be finally
getting a local option.

The DualShock 3 will hit North American stores on April 15 at an
MSRP of 54.99, or $5 more than the current SIXAXIS controller. While
Japan has both white and black DualShock 3 models, SCEA has not
revealed which shades in which it will launch the controllers.
Launching alongside the DualShock 3 will also be Gran Turismo 5
Prologue, which fully supports force feedback controllers and
wheels.

Although retailer information points to the 80GB
PlayStation 3 as discontinued, Sony doesn’t seem to be done
with it yet. SCEA also announced that it will create a new system
bundle upon the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, which will
include the feverishly anticipated title and a DualShock 3
controller. The new 80GB pack is expected in late Q2 2008, and will
retail for $499.

“Working closely with our retail and publishing partners and
sharing our hardware and software roadmaps at Destination PlayStation
gives us a great opportunity to outline some key milestones for the
year. In response to incredible demand, we will be manufacturing more
80GB PS3s for North America and the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the
Patriots 80GB PS3 bundle is an ideal way to offer that continued
value to our consumers,” said Jack Tretton, president and CEO,
SCEA.

SCEA confirmed that Metal Gear Solid 4 will indeed hit a
worldwide release in the second
quarter of this year, which will also launch with a Metal Gear
Online “Starter Pack.” Furthermore, those who pre-order Metal
Gear Solid 4 will be “guaranteed access to a multiplayer beta
test for Metal Gear Online scheduled for late April.”

In the last bit of hardware news, SCEA will release in June a
special edition “Deep Red” PSP model which will be packed with
God of War: Chains of Olympus, the film Superbad on UMD
and a voucher to download Syphon Filter: Combat Ops from the
PlayStation Store. Just as the Star Wars “Ceramic White”
PSP-2000
was silk screened with an image of Darth Vader on the back, the “Deep
Red” PSP will come branded with Kratos – the protagonist from the
God of War series. God of War: Chains of Olympus will
launch on its own on March 4.

Tretton also took the opportunity to slip in a mild nod to Blu-ray
Disc’s recent
victory, no doubt helped in part by the PlayStation 3. “With
Blu-ray having won the format war, our stellar software line-up and a
broad product portfolio, we will continue to drive the incredible
momentum we've been generating since last fall,” he said.

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